Red and Gold Gloves
by VickyVicarious
Summary: "Draco Malfoy is a widely acknowledged git." The discovery of an enigma. Draco/Ginny


My first HP fic, so go easy on me, yeah? Haven't read the last two books of the series in a while, but I remember the gist. This contains spoilers for _Half-Blood Prince_, although it doesn't really follow the timeline or anything.

* * *

Draco Malfoy is a widely acknowledged git.

He bullies the first-years, he insults any of a higher year, he thinks he's better than everyone else, he believes in all the 'mudblood' hype, his family are well-known supporters of the Dark Lord, he's always sneering, he flaunts his fortune, he's Harry Potter's rival, he uses all the people around him, he's the Slytherin King, he's hated and admired and watched by everyone.

-xxx-

Draco Malfoy is a widely acknowledged handsome guy.

He has hair naturally so blonde that it's almost white, he's not too tall but just the way he stands makes him feel like he's towering over you, he's very built from all the Quidditch practice, he has high cheekbones and sharp features, he has very nice lips, his eyes are a very captivating shade of blue, Pansy Parkinson never shuts up about what he can do with his tongue, he moves with a catlike grace that is rare in teenage boys, he's always in control and that's kind of sexy, he's resented and envied and admired and watched by everyone.

-xxx-

Draco Malfoy is a rather well known successful student.

His marks are all incredibly high in most classes, he fools around and rarely takes his own notes but still manages to get at least above average on everything, he's only second to one person in his year, he has the highest Potions grade since Severus Snape attended, he earns a rather large percentage of all his house's house points, he is a vital member of the Slytherin Quidditch team, he's respected and admired by most if not all of his House, he's Prefect and is probably going to be Head Boy, he's confronted and disappointed and confused and approved and watched by the teachers.

-xxx-

Draco Malfoy is a not very well known lonely teenager.

His only friends are either admirers or bodyguards, everyone else hates him, he's only ever had one girlfriend and that was only because Pansy never left him alone, his father is incredibly strict and only concerned with the family name and the Dark Lord, his mother sees him approximately three times a week on the holidays, he doesn't keep a diary, he only associates with those approved by his parents, he lives in a manor house with his two parents and a house-elf, Harry Potter and his friends are the ones that he lets out the most emotions around, he never cries, he's noticed and pitied and worried over and watched by Narcissa Malfoy and Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore.

-xxx-

Draco Malfoy is a secret opponent of Lord Voldemort.

He responds with the correct answers when his father speaks to him about the Dark Lord, he acts in a way that suggests that he is a loyal follower, he Apparates with his father to a dark room where he stands straight-backed and terrified but blank-faced, he accepts a mission to kill Dumbledore, he works on it as though his life depends upon it, his life depends upon his ability to pretend, he does nothing to fight back, he is desperate and depressed, he tells no one, he hates the thing that he's working for, he hopes that Potter is as good as they say even though he doesn't believe he is, he's tricked everyone.

-xxx-

Draco Malfoy is a hero known to only one person.

She watches him and notices all the things that others don't: he grows paler and more drawn as the year goes by and the shadows under his eyes get larger, his eyes light up when he plays Quidditch and when he loses they shut down, he bites his lips whenever he gets a letter from home, he has over twelve different ways of smirking and maybe a few aren't mean, his hair never gets disheveled, he rolls his eyes when McGonagall calls on him, he spins his wand once in his hands and flexes his fingers before beginning charms, he can raise both eyebrows separately, he likes apples but hates grapes and pudding, he looks like someone had punched him in the stomach when he hears about his father, he likes to watch the stars, his teeth are white and even when he shows them in a rare and brief happy grin, his posture is perfect, he meets with Professor Snape more frequently than he steps outside, he actually doesn't talk too much, his eyes spark when he sees Harry Potter then turn to chips of ice in an equally cold face, he laughed once for real when it snowed, he is everything that fascinates and disturbs and confuses and he gives her a funny feeling in her heart – a thumping that goes faster and faster, a light-headed hope.

-xxx-

Draco Malfoy is very surprised when he gets a letter that tells him so. He glances around the Great Hall with his pale face looking paler, and when his eyes don't meet any others he gets up from his chair and leaves without a word.

Draco Malfoy walks around the lake three times without a scarf and by the time he comes back inside his hands are as cold as his eyes. The letter burns to ashes.

Draco Malfoy eats more over the next few days, and always watches the Great Hall with cold but probing eyes, and he does not dream at night.

Draco Malfoy doesn't seem surprised when he meets a girl in the hallways that smiles briefly at him. He nods back and doesn't say a word to her. He walks around the lake again, and stops looking at meals.

-xxx-

When she continues to meet him and smile, he continues to respond in the exact same way, not saying a word, never speaking to her. His eyes are cold and he takes long walks every day.

Two weeks pass in which nothing more happens with Draco Malfoy. His marks are doing very well and no one speaks to him much.

When Ginny Weasley walks up next to him one day, halfway around the lake, he raises one eyebrow at her and says, "It's cold out here, Weasel."

She smiles and looks down at her red-and-gold gloves, burying her chin in the matching scarf. In his plain black robes Draco Malfoy seems not to fit.

Ginny Weasley nods silently and they walk around the lake together.

-xxx-

Draco Malfoy snaps after three weeks of walks in the cold, her bundled up for protection and him blatantly defying the chill, and neither saying a word. He suddenly stops and whirls around to look at her. "What are you _doing?_"

Ginny Weasley blinks slowly, long eyelashes brushing cheeks flushed from cold. Then she begins to walk towards him. He does not move, stiff-backed and staring as she removes a red-and-gold glove, letting it drop to the ground while her hand reaches out and rests on his cheek.

His breath catches at the human contact but he doesn't say a word or make a move, and it is Ginny Weasley who leans forward slowly and kisses Draco Malfoy.

It is not very long and not a very deep kiss, and he doesn't kiss back, but when she goes down from tiptoes his eyes are shining in a new way.

He leaves and does not venture outside for several days.

-xxx-

It is frosted outside and most of the school is home for Christmas when he returns and picks up the glove. He rubs the wool between his fingers and sighs.

When he turns around, Ginny Weasley is walking towards him. He hands her the glove and she puts it on, and when she looks quizzically at him, he exposes his teeth in a short grin.

They walk around the lake together.

-xxx-

It is Draco Malfoy who steps forward and brushes the hair from Ginny Weasley's cheek. His eyes flick over her face and he swallows, and leans forward slightly before pulling back and walking away.

Ginny Weasley is the one who scowls, and quickly chases after him, planting herself in his path. She is the one that glares and says, "Don't you _dare_," and she is the one that roughly grabs his shoulders and drags him down for a kiss, passionate.

He still doesn't kiss back, and she throws her hands up in the air, exasperated. "Forget it," she says.

Then it is Draco Malfoy who is suddenly stepping forward, reaching roughly out and catching her hands and pulling her towards him. It is Draco Malfoy who lets go to cup her face and leans down to press his lips to hers. It is Draco Malfoy whose hand slides into her thick red hair and whose eyes close and whose nose brushes hers and whose mouth opens and whose tongue Pansy is not wrong about.

Ginny Weasley doesn't hesitate to kiss back. And soon they are wrapped up close and she is barely breathing and he can't let go of her and their lips are passionate and he is stroking her neck, her back, her cheek, he's kissing her mouth and her nose and her cheek and his hands are shaking and she is hugging him, and they are both shaking and kissing and kissing and then they are just standing there, tangled around each-other and breathing fast, eyes closed.

It is Ginny Weasley that smiles first, but it is Draco Malfoy who laughs.

-xxx-

Draco Malfoy is a widely acknowledged git, and no one knows what to do when he smiles, except for Ginny Weasley.

Draco Malfoy is a widely acknowledged handsome guy, but he's been taken by the most unlikely girl.

Draco Malfoy studies in the library with Ginny Weasley and their marks aren't bad.

Draco Malfoy isn't quite so lonely.

And Draco Malfoy might be watched by everyone, but it is Ginny Weasley who approaches him. And it is her who melts the ice in his eyes. And it is her who learns his secrets.

-xxx-

Draco Malfoy walks around the lake in the cold. He doesn't wear a scarf. But Ginny Weasley does, and her red-and-gold gloved hands warm his.


End file.
